The next day.
[Vought International].
99th floor [CEO's Office].
Stan Edgar stood with a glass of wine in hand, gazing wistfully out the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the [New York] cityscape.
At last night's press conference, he was backstabbed in public by Victoria Neuman, the foster daughter he had secretly cultivated for years.
This meant his career as CEO was coming to an end.
What followed would likely be serious criminal charges and imprisonment.
Of course.
For various reasons, [Vought International] would never allow a veteran like him to spend his remaining years in prison.
But for Stan Edgar, who had meticulously planned every step of his life, this was an unprecedented rout!
Originally, he had planned to spend three to five years helping [Vought International] transition and completely shed its dependence on the Homelander-led "superhero marketing model."
He intended to regain [Vought International]'s leading position in the pharmaceutical industry by selling [Temporary Compound V], pulling it back from the brink.
But who would have thought that his ambition would be cut short...
"How is it? The view here is beautiful, isn't it?"
Just then, a triumphant voice came from behind Stan Edgar.
Homelander strutted in like a victor.
"Honestly, you should fly up and look down. The view from above is unbelievably beautiful."
"But, come to think of it, didn't the administrative staff notify you that your 'temporary leave' has been approved by the board?"
"You executives always like to play complicated word games. Temporary leave... why not just say permanent dismissal?"
As he spoke, Homelander sat in the chair that symbolized the CEO's power.
Homelander always held a grudge.
Since Stan Edgar took office, he had deliberately suppressed him at every turn.
Now that he had finally succeeded in overthrowing him, if he didn't take the opportunity to kick him while he was down, wouldn't all the humiliation he had endured be for nothing?
However, Stan Edgar seemed unmoved, ignoring Homelander's taunts and sarcasm.
Although this unexpected setback was due to his foster daughter,
if there was anyone within [Vought International] who knew how to handle Homelander best, even "Mommy" Madelyn Stillwell would have to take a backseat.
Sure enough.
Failing to see the frustrated reaction he had expected, Homelander felt unprecedentedly defeated.
Even the joy of victory was diluted.
His lips twitched several times, and Homelander continued, unwilling to give up, "You must be blaming Victoria in your heart right now, right? But don't blame her..."
But before he could finish, Stan Edgar interrupted without turning his head, "I don't blame her."
"These are all survival tactics I taught her. Be versatile... it seems she's even better than I imagined."
At this point, Stan Edgar smiled knowingly, then turned his head slightly, glancing at Homelander out of the corner of his eye and asking:
"But what I'm really curious about is, what did you use to win her over?"
Homelander's face lit up, and he blurted out in a victorious tone, "Nothing much, just a little respect... If you had given me a little back then, you probably wouldn't be in such a miserable state now."
This time, Stan Edgar finally turned around, looking directly into the other man's eyes without fear, and calmly retorted, "But what's the use of that?"
"In my opinion, if your soul is full of insecurity, then even if you are given more respect, it won't help."
The smile on Homelander's face froze, and he suppressed his anger, pretending to be relaxed as he said, "Heh, maybe you don't know, I used to be very afraid of you for a while. As for the reason, you should be able to guess..."
"But now, in my eyes, you are no different from those ordinary people!"
"Then why did you make a special trip to tell me this?"
Stan Edgar had clearly seen through the other man's thoughts, and he sarcastically said without mercy, "I guess you didn't come here specifically to see me off, did you?"
"Or are you still like a rebellious child, treating me as the father figure you imagine, and coming here to show off and seek my approval?"
"Stop deluding yourself... Even if I was really like a strict father in the past, if your heart is really as strong as you just said, then you wouldn't need my approval long ago!"
"That's right, I have to admit that your tactic of turning Victoria against me was very effective. Now you have finally got your wish and have the company's control in your hands.
But I dare to say that you will regret it soon, because no one will stop you from doing stupid things like I did anymore!!"
Homelander, as if his sore spot had been touched, questioned in exasperation, "Why do you say that?"
Stan Edgar smiled slightly, "Because soon the whole world will see how foolish, how incompetent, how disappointing you are!!"
"So, now I'll answer your previous question... I don't respect you because you don't deserve my respect at all."
"You are not a god, you are just a terrible product created by [Vought International]!!"
With that, Stan Edgar put down his wine glass and strode away with a flourish.
Now that he was no longer the CEO of [Vought International], he naturally no longer needed to worry about the consequences of falling out with Homelander.
Throughout this process, Homelander was constantly watching his body language.
Even if Stan Edgar's heartbeat was slightly faster or he secreted too much sweat, Homelander would immediately use his laser eyes to cut him in half.
On the contrary, the more tough his attitude was, the less Homelander dared to attack him.
This was a mental hierarchy suppression, unrelated to personal strength.
It was the last insurance measure that [Vought International] had specifically hired the world's top psychological hypnotists to instill in his personality through long-term intervention and guidance since Homelander's childhood.
To prevent this powerful superhero from completely losing control and going on a killing spree in the future!
Stan Edgar knew Homelander's "submissive" nature, which was why he dared to show such a tough attitude in front of him.
And the facts proved that he had bet correctly.
"Fu*k!!"
After Stan Edgar left, Homelander roared at the air.
He was clearly the winner.
Why did he feel like a loser in front of that black man?
[John, you've done a great job. You've successfully driven that pesky black man out of the CEO's seat... Now, [Vought International] is yours. Go and create your glorious future!!]
The magical voice in his mind rang out again.
"That's right, I'm the winner."
Feeling like he had found a confidant, Homelander took out his phone and called his balding female assistant, Ashley Barrett, and said with great ambition:
"Get me a plan right away. See what the public cares about most right now..."
"I want to make [Vought International] more famous and influential in my hands... at least stronger than when that bastard Stan Edgar was in charge!!"
The latest novels are first published on Liǔ 9 Shū Bā!
…………
……
Inside [New York's Grayble University] campus.
At this moment, a large group of students were gathered in front of a lawn, watching the familiar scene unfolding with strange expressions... a case of campus bullying!
Dr. Curt Connors, who had come here specifically to find Peter Parker, couldn't help but stop out of curiosity, craning his neck to barely see what was happening inside.
But then a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
The two people standing in the middle of the lawn were Peter Parker and Flash Thompson, the star player of the school's football team.
However, this time, the roles of bully and bullied seemed to have been reversed.
Flash Thompson climbed up from the ground in a very disheveled state, not caring about brushing off the mud and grass clippings from his T-shirt, or wiping away the trickle of blood that had flowed from his nostril during the head-on collision just now.
Like an enraged brown bear, he charged towards Peter Parker, who was holding a football in one hand and covering his eyes with the other.
Bang—
However, just as Flash Thompson's fingertips were about to touch the football, Peter Parker slightly twisted his wrist and directly slammed the ball into the former's face.
The enormous force instantly sent the burly Flash Thompson flying, clutching his nose and rolling several times on the lawn in pain.
The surrounding onlookers all showed expressions of disbelief.
Who could have imagined that the once-bullied "useless Parker" had now transformed into a strongman who was abusing the school bully, Flash Thompson?
Did this guy get possessed by the Hulk?
Dr. Curt Connors on the periphery couldn't believe his eyes even more.
That familiar, thin figure, that Peter Parker who usually gave people a refined, timid impression, could easily beat that strong man?
Obviously, in the past few days, some unknown extraordinary changes seemed to have happened to this young man.
And the first thing that Dr. Curt Connors thought of was... the [cross-species gene serum] using lizard genes that Peter Parker had helped him complete before!
But the problem is, even he couldn't easily create such a high-end gene drug in a professional experiment. How could the other party, a mere poor student, be able to complete it independently?
At this time, Peter Parker in the middle of the crowd slowly lowered the hand covering his eyes, and then, imitating the tone that Flash Thompson used to mock him in the past, shouted loudly:
"Come on, useless Thompson, don't be such a sissy. Show some manhood. Didn't you always say that you run like lightning?"
"Then use the way you used to teach me to snatch the ball back?!"
"What's wrong... why don't you get up from the ground like a man? Do you want to wait for someone to save you too?"
"Parker, I'm not done with you!"
With blood flowing from his nose and feeling like he had lost all face, Flash Thompson struggled to get up and wanted to run away after leaving a harsh word.
But he was directly stopped by Peter Parker, who grabbed the other man's neck with one hand and lifted him up in front of him, mocking him mercilessly:
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"
"Now, shouldn't we settle the old scores that have happened over the years?"
Flash Thompson struggled desperately, but it was to no avail. The other party's big hand was as immovable as iron tongs.
The increasingly real feeling of suffocation made him panic.
Although he didn't know what had happened to the still-thin Peter Parker in front of him,
one thing was certain, that the other party was no longer the weakling he used to bully.
A good man doesn't suffer the immediate loss.
Flash Thompson immediately cowered, his face red and his ears red as he begged for mercy, "Parker, I'm sorry, it was all my fault before... I promise I won't do this again in the future."
Peter Parker felt so refreshed in his heart after hearing this belated apology!
This time, he didn't rely on Gwen, but relied on his own strength to successfully defeat the school bully.
No wonder people always say that a man's dignity is earned with his fists!
"You better keep your promise, otherwise I won't give you another chance next time."
Although Peter Parker hated this bastard who had bullied him for many years, he didn't deserve to die, so after warning him, he let go and let him escape.
In the end.
He and Gwen roughly belonged to the same kind of person.
They had clear likes and dislikes!
And because there was a trace of kindness in his heart, he wouldn't completely lose himself in the runaway power and do things like killing innocent people indiscriminately.
In [Hyperspace], Khorne shook his head repeatedly as he looked at this familiar scene: Why are all the guys I've recruited recently such cowards who like to reason? Just kill that bastard for me!!!
As Flash Thompson fled in a panic without looking back, the crowd that had been surrounding him quickly dispersed.
"Peter."
Dr. Curt Connors looked at Peter Parker with fervent eyes, as if he wanted to dissect him on the spot to find out what was going on, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and you seem to have changed a lot?"
Peter Parker felt a little guilty as he was being stared at, and he changed the subject, "Um... Dr. Connors, are you passing by, or did you come here specifically to find me?"
Curt Connors smiled slightly, "Oh, I just happened to be passing by here, so I came here specifically to express my gratitude to you!"
